Audiences and musical performers generally prefer the appearance, sound, and in the case of the percussionist, the feel of an acoustic drum, as compared with electronic drums. Electronic drums that have the feel of an acoustic drum, and which produce a sound comparable to an acoustic drum are generally very expensive and generally do not have the appearance of acoustic drums.
An important advantage of electronic drums is that they eliminate the need for appropriately positioning microphones for the drums, which can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Another important advantage of electronic drums, is that it is easy to change the sound of the drum by adjusting settings on an electronic controller or computer.
Attempts have been made to provide kits for converting an acoustic drum to an electronic drum. While such modifications are relatively easy and inexpensive, there are associated disadvantages. Such conversions generally require permanent modifications to the drum shell, such as drilled mounting holes that degrade the appearance of the drum. Durability and playability is generally poor. The playability of triggers using foam dampening quickly deteriorates with use, resulting in inconsistent trigger response, which ultimately makes the converted drum unplayable. The triggers used in such conversion kits provide inferior sound quality and a very small sweet spot, such as approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, where a strike will produce an acceptable drum beat.